St Clement Danes

[alantaylor1 at 8cUxhUYK1bCEXxEANbag542WY5jrDUF8XbrXXxzIWLyyQc9VgBr_thRKGIlxOvpRLFC8KkL6tpr1U3XI6NEOQHGpNTRUbA.yahoo.invalid]

I have been doing some research, in the excellent Westminster Archives
Centre in SW1, on St Clement Danes. The Archive Centre holds all of the
records of SCD. This is a rich vein of material.

It would seem the church was hit on two nights by incendiary bombs. The
first raid did most of the damage, including gutting the tower. Material in
the archives talks of the difficult task of getting the bells down from the
burnt out tower. And then goes onto say that the bells were then placed in a
brick shed. To keep them safe. When the bells were finally collected by
Whitechapel, 10 of the 12 bells were cracked. That is the ringing 10,
Sanctus bell and accidental used by the carillon. The Sanctus bell was in
fact hung in the steeple and is now hung with the new bells.

Alan Hughes tells me, that his grandfather told him, that the bells looked
like aero bars. They had so many holes in them.

Lastly the tower layout. The present tower is the medieval tower plus 2
stories. When the tower was raised by 2 stories, so were the bells. After
the war the bells were brought down 2 stories. So, the present belfry was
the pre-war ringing room. But, the pre-war ringing room was the medieval
belfry. 
There is even a picture of the pre-war ringing room.

Alan

PS, I have recently found 2 pictures of the interior of St John's Wilton
Road. This was an 8 bombed in the war. The Archives Centre had no pictures
of this but now do.

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